Thirst
by actualhobbit
Summary: A newcomer at Hogwarts seeks to find a shred of acceptance among his new peers. In the end, what does it matter when the human heart can only find meaning in the smallest of moments? Set during OotP. AU, OCxGinny.
1. Bring the Noise

**Chapter Title:** Bring the Noise

**Summary:** Another non-human at Hogwarts must face the challenge of keeping a secret and the fear of being found out. When Ginny realizes that he's a vampire, complications ensue. Somewhat closely based on book five. OCxGinny.

**Disclaimer:** This story is closely based off of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I don't own anything in the aforementioned work of fiction except Eli. =)

* * *

The Hogwarts Express was unpleasantly loud as it surged through the relentless rain that stained the clouds a murky gray. Steam billowed in rippling trails off the top of the train, swirling off into the air to mix with the looming, dark thunderheads in the overcast sky. The train's sure wheels moved steadily, clattering against the tracks as it weaved through the green countryside. The train would arrive at Hogsmeade station later that day.

Inside, the glossy, transparent windows rattled against their clean metal frames. The rain battered the windows and left swollen, clear droplets of water to quickly slide down the glass. Students' voices swelled and rose within the train, an endless multitude of chattering Hogwarts students. The sounds blended together into one meaningless string of irritating babble.

I had known before I'd arrived here that it would be hard for me not to murder all these innocent humans for their sweet-smelling blood. I hadn't contemplated, though, that it would be difficult for me not to kill these children merely because they talked far too often and noisily. I wanted to run to the nearest compartment and throw myself out of the window- and that was one of the more rational ideas I'd come up with in the past hour or so.

It was going to be a long year.

I strode swiftly down the narrow hall of the train, an urgent and desperate need to escape this atrocious noise guiding me far down the train's corridor. My sensitive hearing couldn't take in all the yelling, whispering, and inane chatter that was going on- if I were a human, I would have contracted an immense headache by this point. But then, if I were a human...none of this would be happening in the first place.

My wand lightly brushed my leg through the denim of my jeans. It was an odd, unfamiliar feeling to finally be in legal possession of a wand. A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. I was finally here: on the way to Hogwarts. What irked me was the fact that I wasn't actually _there_ yet. First, I'd have to survive this preposterously loud train ride.

A large cat with an alarming, tufted mane of white fur suddenly streaked by, yowling pitifully to itself. It was soon followed by a small girl with blonde hair who dodged me as she ran down the corridor.

"...Come back! C'mon, Fluffy!"

What a terribly creative name. Bravo.

I turned my head, watching her chase it. The furry thing let out another loud, frightened meow of protest and put on another burst of speed. I watched the girl's glossy, quickly moving reflection in the glass of a compartment window ghost by. The last thing to disappear was the flowing gold tendrils of her hair, rippling in the air behind her as she ran. Her eyes darted up to meet mine for a fraction of a second. She didn't pause. Then she was gone, and all I saw was myself reflected back at me.

I looked around sixteen or seventeen, give or take a couple of years. Fifteen at the least, maybe nineteen or so if I was pushing it. My coppery-brown hair shone faintly in the dim light, my ivory-pale, chiseled features too perfectly proportioned to be quite human. My unreadable eyes, black with thirst, stared with a bored kind of confidence out of my face. They were underlined by the dark shadows of one who never sleeps. I had a slim build with lean, wiry muscles that were still noticeable through the long-sleeved button-up shirt I wore. Every human has their physical flaws, but as a vampire, my every physical attribute was designed to attract humans: my prey.

Thinking logically, the only reason I looked like a human was so that I could hunt them down more efficiently.

After reminding myself sharply that they were, in fact, no longer my prey and should not be thought about as food, I scanned the compartments, looking for somewhere with less noise.

"No running in the halls..." someone intoned, rather weakly. I glanced at the source of this comment, a tall, awkward, ginger-haired boy. He looked vaguely bored. He glanced at me- for a second, there was a tinge of fear in his eyes. It was a natural reaction to a vampire like me, but humans had long ago learned to ignore their instincts. He blinked, and the fear melted from his eyes, as if it had never been there. Humans were so easily trusting.

I shouldn't think like that. Humans have no reason not to trust me...right?

As I felt a brief, faltering doubt spark through me, the red-head tried to casually shoulder past me. I flattened myself politely against a wall to let him pass.

Another couple of students awkwardly dodged me as I walked. They left intoxicating trails of scent behind them. My nose flared as I took in the delicious, aromatic scent of blood.

God, I needed to get out of here...perhaps I could find an empty compartment somewhere on this atrocious human vehicle?

I checked a few compartments. All of the humans occupying them either looked faintly scared when they saw me, had a full compartment, or just...annoyed me.

Eventually, I slid open the doors to yet another compartment. It was full, as usual. I glanced at one of the occupants- a dark-haired girl who met my eyes with a slight flinch.

I used to be smug when humans became scared of me. Now, it was only saddening.

I sighed and was about to close the compartment door when she quickly put her hand out, stopping me from closing the door. I looked down at her fingers holding the door open and back up at her.

"Were you looking for a seat?" she asked, smiling at me.

She wasn't afraid anymore.

I kept my expression smooth, unreadable. "I was, but this compartment seems full. I'll just go look for another one, thanks," I replied curtly.

"No!" the girl protested. "Really. Padma, why don't you leave?"

Another girl with black hair gave me a skeptical look, clearly undeterred by the vampire standing in the entrance of their compartment. Her eyebrows rose. "Why should I leave? I was here first!"

"But this person needs somewhere to sit!" the first girl protested.

"Pavarati, I don't care! You're not going to kick me out, it's really rude and-"

"Yeah, Pavarati. Why don't _you_ go?" another girl asked, arching an eyebrow and tossing her blondish-brown hair.

"Just be quiet, Lavender, no one asked you-"

"Erm...I'll just be going, then..." I said awkwardly, beginning to edge out of the compartment. I don't think that they even noticed me leave.

Outside, the noise seemed uproarious to my sensitive hearing.

Anything would be better than the racket out here, I decided.

Before I could change my mind, I abruptly threw open the doors to the nearest compartment without knocking and and slid the doors closed behind me.

I was relieved to find that there was rather less noise in here. Perhaps it was because all of the passengers in the compartment had suddenly fallen silent upon my entry.

I glanced down at the surprised faces staring up at me. A few of them seemed to be swapping chocolate frog cards. "...Hello," one of them said, a girl with bright red hair, "is there something wrong?"

"Er...no. Do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full."

The red-head looked at the boy sitting next to her. He shrugged.

"Okay," she said, smiling slightly. I gratefully slumped into a seat and smiled cautiously, careful not to reveal my fangs. I was relieved that I wouldn't have to leave again. "Thank you for letting me sit in here," I said politely. "Oh- I'm Elijah Sangue, by the way. You can call me Eli."

"I'm Ginny," replied a girl with alarmingly red hair. "This is Loony- I mean, er, Luna, Neville, and Harry."

I smiled again. "Hello," I murmured, nodding at my fellow passengers. I paused, scanning each of the students she'd introduced me to.

Luna was a girl with widely-spaced eyes, who also happened to be sporting raddish earrings. Neville was a round-faced boy clutching some kind of greyish cactus covered with what looked like boils. Harry had jet black hair and green eyes. I could just see a thin, jagged line coming from his hairline...

A scar?

"Are you Harry...Potter?" I asked hesitantly.

He blinked at me, green eyes flashing.

"Yeah, I am."

He was obviously used to the recognition, and didn't particularly care for it.

I was beginning to think that entering this compartment had been a bad idea- the smell of blood saturated the air in this small, confined space. I was sure that the ministry would not look upon me with favor if I admitted to accidentally killing the Boy Who Lived. But then- the ministry didn't seem to be very fond of Harry Potter just lately, anyway.

"Are you new here?" asked Ginny, "I don't think I've seen you around..."

"Yes, I am," I replied. I decided not to elaborate and lead to further questions.

My fellow passengers wouldn't allow me to get away with such a short answer, of course.

"What year are you in? I mean, have you already been sorted?"

"Fifth year," I replied. "I was sorted privately; I'm in Gryffindor."

I hadn't expected to get into Gryffindor. In fact, I'd expected Slytherin after Dolores Umbridge convinced everyone who showed up at my trial that I was a corrupt, monsterous, depraved, murderous, wicked, blood-sucking beast that should probably be in solitary confinement instead of being allowed anywhere near Hogwarts.

If so many humans in court believed that, I reasoned, then why should the person who sorted everyone into their houses be any different? Of course, I hadn't known at that point that a mind-reading hat would sort me into the proper house.

It had been a very unusual trial, because a vampire that also had magical ability was absolutely unheard of. Vampires had been classified by the Ministry as 'Non-Wizard Part-Humans'. I barely remembered what it had been like to be a human- and I was a wizard. I'd found that I was different from other vampires I'd met. I didn't have all of the shortcomings that they did. Garlic wasn't particularly hindersome to me- it made my nose itch unpleasantly, but it wouldn't ward me off. The sun only made my eyes hurt. I had greater senses and physical ability than them, and it took more than just a stake through the heart to kill me. Also, I wasn't particularly fond of black capes.

In other words, I was an absolute misfit. I didn't have anyone else of my species that I could actually relate to. I couldn't be one of the vampires, and I couldn't be one of the humans.

I was only going to Hogwarts by Dumbledore's good favor. He was the only person who had seemed to understand me.

"Oh, you'll be with Harry and Neville, then," said Ginny. "They're both Gryffindor fifth-years." She tossed her hair, fanning her scent toward me. I swallowed convulsively, attempting to get rid of the venom that was flooding into my mouth. My throat burned horribly in protest.

"Great," I said, trying to be enthusiastic.

Harry seemed to be scrutinizing me. His green eyes scanned me, dark eyebrows furrowed. He didn't seem scared- not yet. Hopefully, he hadn't paid too much attention in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Even if I wasn't very much like other vampires, it wasn't too hard to tell that was hiding something. He might have even noticed that I rarely smiled, for fear of revealing my fangs- another difference. Other vampires had pointed teeth, but it wasn't just their canines. And my fangs were noticeable. Too noticable.

The compartment door opened again, this time revealing a rather annoyed-looking pair of students, accompanied by a large, disgruntled ginger cat and a shrilly hooting owl in a cage. The girl's most noticeable features were her wild hair and fluid brown eyes. The boy was the one I'd seen earlier, telling the first-year to slow down in the hall. His hair was almost the exact shade as Ginny's. I wondered if they were siblings.

"Oh- who's this?" asked the boy rudely.

"I'm Eli-" I began, but Ginny interrupted me. "Ron, this is Eli. Eli, this is Ron. Eli couldn't find an empty compartment, so he's sitting here."

Ron made a resigned kind of noise.

"Oh, and Eli, this is Hermione," Ginny continued. I nodded at Hermione and she smiled back tentatively.

Soon, Ron and Hermione seemed comfortable enough to speak freely in my presence.

"I'm starving," Ron intoned. He was sitting in the seat next to Harry, and had seated his smaller owl next to Harry's large white one. Hermione had told me that the two owls were Pigwidgeon and Hedwig; her cat was Crookshanks.

Ron was munching on a chocolate frog that had apparently been taken from Harry. He was leaning back in his seat, his eyes closed.

"There're two fifth-year prefects from each house," Hermione said, an irritated look entering her eyes. "A boy and girl from each."

"Guess who's a Slytherin prefect?" Ron asked. He didn't open his eyes.

"Malfoy," Harry said without hesitation. There was no question in his voice, yet he sounded horrified.

"'Course he is," Ron spat bitterly. He stuffed another chocolate frog into his awaiting mouth.

I looked around, puzzled. "Who's Malfoy?"

"A stupid, interfering git," Ron informed me solemnly.

I blinked at him.

"He's in our year," Hermione added, "and he's really horrible. Oh, that reminds me, what year are you in? Have you been sorted? Were you in a different school? I don't-"

"Hermione, slow down!" Ron laughed, "you're scaring him!"

Hermione glared at him.

I ran through the questions in my mind. I had a good memory. "Er, fifth, yes, I'm in Gryffindor, and no, I was homeschooled," I replied.

Hermione nodded, her hand pausing thoughtfully on Crookshank's head. Her head tilted almost imperceptibly to the right, her eyebrows drawing closer together as she stared at me. My dark eyes met hers, challenging, and she quickly looked away, but I could see that she was thinking of something. She glanced at Harry, raising her eyebrows, eyes flickering at me. He shrugged, almost imperceptibly.

All this happened in a few moments, as the others were chatting on. I tended to notice details.

Now Harry and Hermione had both noticed something odd about me, but the other passengers remained blissfully ignorant.

Harry interrupted Hermione's train of thought. "Who're the other prefects?"

"Pansy Parkinson," said Hermione, a touch of viciousness entering her vaguely bossy voice. "I've no idea how she got to be a prefect, though..." she glanced at me, as though she was about to say something but had decided against it.

"Who are Hufflepuffʹs?" Harry asked.

"Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott," Ron replied, shaking his head.

"And Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil for Ravenclaw," said Hermione.

"You went to the Yule Ball with Padma Patil," Luna said dreamily, her eyes slightly unfocused as she stared at the ginger-haired Ron from over the magazine that she was reading. The cover read, _The Quibbler_. She tilted her head slightly, her unblinking eyes squinting as Ron nearly inhaled his mouthful of chocolate frog.

"Yeah, I know I did," Ron replied. He raised his orange eyebrows.

"She didnʹt enjoy it very much," said Luna, with a slight air of seriousness. "She doesnʹt think you treated her very well, because you wouldn't dance with her."

"I don't think I would have minded," she added as an afterthought, looking into the distance as she considered this, "I don't like dancing much."

Ron looked too surprised to react very much. Ginny giggled uncontrollably at Ron's expression as Luna glanced at me for a few seconds before continuing to read her magazine.

After Ron recovered from his shock, he looked down at the watch he was wearing. I wondered when we'd get off the train; the smell of blood was beginning to make me restless, and my senses were urging me to bite something. My gaze kept somehow wandering to Ginny's neck. She blushed easily, and I could see the blood moving under her skin. I kept myself still, trying not to inhale.

"We prefects have to patrol the corridors every once in a while," Ron said. "Didn't I see you in the corridor earlier?" he added, looking at me.

I smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, probably," I mumbled around my fangs.

"...can't wait to get Crabbe and Goyle," he said thoughtfully.

"Who're they?"

"Malfoy's evil henchmen," Ron snorted in reply.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron."

"What? It's the truth."

They continued to bicker back and forth as I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, trying to ignore what tempted me so constantly.

The air whooshed slightly as Harry took Luna's magazine and began to leaf through it.

"Anything good in there?" Ron asked.

"Of course not!" Hermione snorted. "The Quibbler's rubbish, everyone knows that-"

She froze when she saw Luna's expression. "My father's the editor," Luna informed Hermione coldly. "I'll have that back, thanks," she added, snatching the magazine back from Harry.

"Oh, well, I mean, it's quite- it's-" Hermione stuttered, her cheeks turning a delicious red color as Luna glared at her. Hermione's sweet, distinct aroma fluctuated as she blushed.

The compartment door opened once more. It was almost a relief to get some air that wasn't completely tainted with blood. A blonde boy walked in, flanked by two overly muscular, lumbering boys. His had finely pointed features twisted into a sneer as he looked down at us.

"What?" Harry asked, his tone almost violent.

Was this the infamous Malfoy?

As I pondered this, I remembered: hadn't there been a Malfoy at my trial? Yes, I was nearly certain there had been. A sudden, vivid image of a cold, sneering face popped into my head; his stormy eyes, mocking and condescending beneath his slick, blonde hair. I felt a surge of hate.

"Manners, Potter. I can give you a detention, now, you know. Oh, and who's this?" he looked down his nose at me. "A new student?" He scanned me for a second before a look of realization lit up his pale, pointed, smirking face. I felt a twist of horror.

"Hey, I know you..." Malfoy said slowly, still staring at me. "My father told me about you. You're that disgusting little va-"

"Shut up, Malfoy," I snarled viciously. My voice was barely recognizable as coherent words, but my snarl seemed to get the point across. Malfoy smirked.

"Bite me, Sangue." He winked arrogantly, then strode out of the compartment.

I watched his 'henchmen' go after him, my eyes dark and thirsty. It was all I could do to stop myself from pouncing at the bigger one- his blood didn't smell amazing, but it was still better than the animal blood I usually drank. Every muscle in my body tensed as I tried to hold myself back.

The boy shuddered when he met my violent, animalistic stare, and quickly lumbered away.

The other passengers were staring at me, apart from Luna, who was still reading her magazine- which was, interestingly enough, upside-down.

"You're right," I said quietly, still staring after them. "Malfoy is a horrible, interfering git."

"I thought you didn't know Malfoy?" Hermione eventually asked, a note of hesitation in her voice. Her eyes were wide and unblinking.

The others remained silent. A silent, murderous vampire in the corner of their compartment most likely unnerved them.

"I'm..._acquainted_ with his father," I spat out. My hands shook as I tried to calm down. I took a deep, calming breath, but nearly choked as the combined aromas of the assembled humans struck me.

"Oh...how do you know him?" Hermione asked.

"I'd rather not say," I said curtly.

Harry stared at me. I met his eyes, but he didn't flinch. It was fairly strange- usually when I was in this kind of a mood, humans became terrified- and with good reason. He blinked after a few moments, then looked away.

There was an uncomfortable silence as I slowly calmed down. Eventually, it was broken by Hermione. "We're nearly at school...we'd better change."

We all pulled our robes on, Hermione and Ron carefully pinning shiny prefect badges to their chests. The scent of blood swelled as the swishing fabric waved the mingled aromas around the compartment.

I swallowed the venom that was gathering in my mouth, trying not to inhale too often.

The noise outside of the compartment was soon plausible even from inside the compartment as everyone got their luggage and animals ready so they could get off of the train. Dumbledore had let me keep my own owl, Troglodyte (Trog for sort) in the owlery in Hogwarts for the last few days of summer.

Hermione and Ron left; as prefects, they were to supervise everyone leaving the train. Luna offered to carry Ron's owl, and Harry passed her the cage gratefully.

The cold night air whipped my hair up as I stepped onto the platform, but I couldn't feel the chill of the breeze. The cool temperature of the wind wasn't so different from the temperature of my bloodless skin. A sharp, female voice called for first-years somewhere in the distance.

"Where's Hagrid?" Harry asked.

I had absolutely no idea who or what Hagrid was, so I stayed silent.

"Dunno," Ginny replied vaguely. "We'd better get out of the way, though- we're blocking everyone."

Harry mumbled his agreement. We started to move out of the way, but we were jostled by the quickly moving crowd. I stayed near Harry, but soon we became separated from Ginny. Harry was craning his neck, looking for something- Ginny, I guessed. Eventually we were forced to move forward, up the dark road by Hogsmeade station.

I was surprised to see several hundred carriages pulled by vast, black animals that resembled horses. There was something oddly reptilian about their fleshless skin, through which every bone was visible. Theirs heads were vaguely dragonesque. Batlike wings shifted slightly as they moved.

Harry was watching them, too.

As we approached, the animals began to make nervous, grating squeaks, stamping their feet restlessly. I saw that their eyes were an odd, milky white, pupilless and rapidly blinking. Almost all animals seemed to respond this way towards me; they had far better instincts than humans did.

When I'd retrieved Trog from the owlery, the entire shop had been in an uproar upon my entry. Owls hooted all over the place, screeching and batting their great wings against the cages. I'd been exasperated at the time- I wasn't going to eat them, so why were they so panicked? Amidst this chaos, Trog watched me placidly, staring with bored arrogance out of her cage. I could tell that she wasn't at all scared of me. I immediately chose her.

"What are those things?" I asked quietly, glancing at Harry.

"I don't know," he replied, "they've never been there before."

I heard Ron approaching behind us, and turned so I could see him. "Where's Pig?" he demanded rudely. I wondered what he was talking about for a moment before I realized that he was making reference to his owl.

"That Luna girl was carrying him," Harry answered. "Where do you reckon-"

"-Hagrid is? I dunno, but he'd better be alright."

I found it slightly unnerving that Ron was able to finish Harry's sentences. How long had they known one another?

I noticed Malfoy pushing some smaller children out of the way as he barged towards a carriage. He was just like his father.

Shortly afterward, Hermione had shuffled her way out of the thronging group of hundreds of students. She began to complain about Malfoy, but I barely heard her. So many humans, all crowded together in one place...

I shuddered slightly, fighting to remain calm. I stayed perfectly rigid, not breathing, staring at all of the humans and their delicious blood.

* * *

**A/N:** Oh noes, a cliffhanger! I'd say I was sorry, but I don't like to lie to my readers. Relish the suspense. Review.


	2. Inquisition

**Chapter Title:** Inquisition

**Summary:** Another non-human at Hogwarts must face the challenge of keeping a secret and the fear of being found out. When Ginny realizes that he's a vampire, complications ensue. Somewhat closely based on book five. OCxGinny.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter, but I _do_ own Eli.

**Recap:** _"So many humans, all crowded together in one place..._

_I shuddered slightly, fighting to remain calm. I stayed perfectly rigid, not breathing, staring at all of the humans and their delicious blood."_

* * *

..."Where's Crookshanks?" Hermione asked. I stared into the crowd, ignoring her, eyes wide and thirsty. My neck snapped as I rolled it over my shoulders, trying to somehow relax myself. I stood awkwardly, holding myself back.

"Ginny has him, I think..." Harry told Hermione, just as Ginny had fought her way from the crowd. Crookshanks hissed loudly when he saw me. He squirmed in Hermione's arms, trying desperately to get away from me.

"Crookshanks!" said Hermione, seizing the cat. "What's gotten into you?"

I grimaced, taking a step back, still not fully in control.

Ginny noticed me, her eyes widening. "Your eyes..." she whispered, her voice barely audible above the roar of the crowd.

I blinked, knowing my pupils had probably dilated until they almost took up the entire whites. That tended to happen when I was hunting. My vision was almost painfully sharp, all the colors bright even though night had descended on Hogsmeade.

Ginny took a hesitant step forward, the opposite of what her instincts probably told her, one hand outstretched as if wanting to help. I shuddered again, taking a step back.

The others had noticed now. "Are you okay?" Hermione asked, eyes wide.

"I'm fine," I choked out, my venom-coated fangs muffling my speech. They felt sharp and awkward in my mouth.

"Let's get a carriage..they're all going to be full," Ron said loudly, "And where's my owl?" Harry and Ron started to walk off, Harry pointing at the strange winged creatures that lead the carriages as they went. Ron looked confused as he received his owl from Luna.

Hermione gave me one last concerned look, before she and the others began to go off towards the nearest empty carriage.

Ginny, however, remained. Her hand was still out. Gingerly, I took a step forward, my senses still assaulted by the sheer quantity of blood.

I grasped her hand gently.

It was warm and soft, nothing like my icy, unrelenting skin. To my surprise, she didn't wince as my skin met hers, only tugged on my cold hand in the direction of the carriage.

I stayed close to her, trying to only breathe in her scent rather than all of the other mingled scents in the air. She smelled light and sweet- it was appealing, but not overwhelming.

She looked up at me, scanning my dark eyes. I looked back down at her and smiled hesitantly. My smile quickly vanished when I realized that my fangs were exposed, but she didn't really seem to notice.

When we finally got to the carriage, I gently helped her step inside, then sat down myself.

Everyone was already inside the carriage, waiting for us.

"You all right?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrows.

"What? Oh. Yeah. I'm fine," I said distractedly, letting Ginny's hand go when I saw Ron staring at me accusingly.

But I wasn't. It was pretty bad in the carriage, though it wasn't as bad as it had been out there. Ginny scooted closer to me, sensing my distress. Her scent was somehow soothing now, but it didn't stop me from being able to smell anything else.

And then the door closed. The carriage began to move.

Agony.

The scent of caged prey permeated every corner. My vision was still very sharp- I guessed that my pupils hadn't really gone back to normal yet. Every sense became even more potent as my body prepared to hunt. It was all I could do to keep from drooling venom all over my new Gryffindor robes.

If my fellow passengers spoke, I was too distracted to notice.

God. They smelled so _good_.

My nostrils flared, and my throat ached and burned, every instinct willing me to _pounce_. I felt myself beginning to lose my somewhat tenuous hold on humanity, my thoughts becoming less and less civilized, clouded with bloodlust. I stared at the human with red hair, focusing on my prey. My eyes lingered on the spot I instinctively knew to bite her. I could smell her, hear her pulse beating louder and louder as I eagerly regarded my prey. I could already taste her blood on my tongue. I'd gone too long without human blood, without satisfaction...

I am

so

_thirsty_

At the absolute split second before I leapt at the nearest human, I felt Ginny poke me hard in the arm. My dark eyes flickered up to hers, still half-crazed with bloodlust.

"We're almost there," she assured me quietly, eyes searching mine.

I closed my eyes, my jaw tensed, and nodded stiffly.

The carriages jingled to a halt.

That had been too close.

I had to stop myself from running out of the detested carriage. Instead, in one quick, graceful step, I was out of the vehicle. Ginny stepped out after me.

"Can I talk to you about something later? After the feast?" she asked me.

I turned my head, dissecting her hopeful expression. "It depends on what you want to talk about," I said carefully.

She narrowed her eyes. "I think you owe me an explanation," she sniffed. My eyebrows furrowed. I hoped that I hadn't been too obvious in front of her.

Many of the students owed her more than me. I could have easily killed them if she hadn't been there.

"I owe you something," I said softly, "but an explanation is something I can't give you."

"You mean 'won't'."

"I mean 'shouldn't'," I corrected. "And yes- 'won't'."

She glared at me. "You're very frustrating. Are you doing that on purpose?"

"You know nothing about me," I replied tonelessly, avoiding the question.

She leaned closer. "I know you have _fangs_," she whispered. I stiffened, glancing around to see if anyone had heard her, but students were hurrying to the wide entrance doors or Hogwarts- no one had heard.

I ran my tongue over my fangs self-conciously, frowning at her. "They're not fangs. My canine teeth are just larger than average," I told her, annoyed that she'd noticed.

"And sharper?"

"Yes," I replied, relieved. "Exactly."

She laughed. "I'm not that stupid."

I shot her an irritated glance. "Are you always this nosy?"

"Are you always this elusive?"

I sighed. By now, nearly all the students were already in the Great Hall. "We should go inside," I said gently, and strode up the steps. I didn't hear Ginny follow me.

I walked past the entrance to the Great Hall, looking inside for a few moments. The first- years hadn't arrived yet, but I could see the other students I'd already met- Harry, Ron, Neville, Hermione- they were all sitting at the Gryffindor table. I spotted Luna not far off. She was staring right at me. Then she broke into a grin, starting to wave at me. The other Ravenclaws around her gave her odd looks, scooting surreptitiously away. I raised a hand in greeting, then shrank back. I couldn't go to a feast when I already felt so bloodthirsty- besides, I couldn't digest human food.

In court, I'd almost been banned from going to school events like feasts and Quidditch tournaments, but Dumbledore insisted that I have this freedom at his school. Though I wasn't going to the feast, I still was grateful for this freedom.

I began to climb the stairs, though I was unsure of where I was headed. After a few minutes, I realized that I was quite lost. I thought about trying to find Dumbledore to ask him, but then I remembered that he, along with the other professors, were all at the feast.

As I turned a corner, I smelled the unpleasant whiff of mothballs and unwashed human, followed by the more pleasant smell of blood. An old human with pale, bulging eyes turned the corner, staring at me, his face irritated. He started shuffling towards me.

"What are you doing wandering about in corridors during the start-of-term feast? Out to make some trouble, eh?"

I raised my eyebrows, alarmed at his sudden presence. "No, sir," I replied, wondering if he was a teacher. "I don't feel well, so I was headed to my common room."

"You're not anywhere near your common room!" he wheezed at me, his eyes seeming to protrude even further.

I took a step back, alarmed, dodging a flecks of spit that flew from his mouth as he spoke. "I'm a new student. I don't know where my common room is."

"Likely story!"

"I assure you, I am being completely honest. Will you please tell me where it is?" I asked, politely as I could.

The old man seemed vaguely surprised by my formal language. "Can't tell you that."

"Why not?"

"It's a secret," he cackled. I glared at him, annoyed. Then there was a voice behind me: "Eli?"

I twisted my head to the left. It was Ginny. Of course it was.

"Are you looking for the common room? I'll show you where it is- c'mon," she said, motioning to me with a small, pale hand.

"You can't-" the old man sputtered as we walked away from him.

"Are you stalking me?" I asked Ginny with interest.

She stopped walking and blushed furiously. "No! I saw that you weren't at the feast, and I thought you must have gone up to the common room, but then I realized that you didn't know where that was, so I-" I pressed a finger to her lips. She stared at me, her liquid chocolate eyes wide and startled. "I was joking," I murmured, amused. Her cheeks began to redden further.

I quickly took my finger back, realizing how cold and repulsive it must feel against her warm, soft skin.

"Oh," she mumbled, turning her red face away from me and starting to walk forwards again. I felt an odd sense of disappointment. Was my sense of humor another difference between myself and humans?

I dutifully followed her to the Gryffindor common room. She pointed some details out along the way- staircases that tended to move, trick steps, helpful portraits.

Then we arrived at a large portrait of a fat woman in a pink silk dress. "Why are we-" I started to ask, but Ginny interrupted me. "Mimbulus mimbletonia!"

I blinked, startled by her sudden outburst that sounded quite nonsensical. "What?"

The portrait in front of us swung open, and Ginny climbed through. I followed her curiously.

The Gryffindor common room looked more welcoming than I could have imagined- it was a snug circular tower room, decorated with comfy, overstuffed armchairs and unsteady tables. A fire roared in its hearth at one end of the room, and I could feel its gentle warmth on my skin before I'd taken more than a few steps. There weren't many people in here yet, since the feast was still in progress, for which I was grateful. It was nice and quiet, and there wasn't so much blood to tempt me.

As I looked around, I felt Ginny staring at me. I avoided her gaze. "So this is the Gryffindor common room..." I said quietly, just to break the silence.

"Mhm," she said, managing to convey her annoyance in that one monosyllabic comment.

"Do you know where my dormitory is?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah," she replied smugly.

"Care to elaborate?" I asked, irritated now and letting it show in my tone.

"Not until you tell me-"

"Then I'll ask someone else," I said stiffly, turning my head to two red-haired boys that were obviously twins, pinning some papers to the notice boards. They were the only others in the common room.

"Oi! Fred, George! Don't tell him anything!" Ginny cried, pointing at me.

"Right you are, Gin. He _does_ look a bit shifty," one of the boys replied, winking at me.

A muffled growl raised from my chest. I tried to suppress it, but I was angry.

"Did you just _growl_ at me?" Ginny asked, shocked. I grimaced, looking away. "No. I just...burped," I replied. "Excuse me," I added as an afterthought.

"You did!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied, narrowing my eyes.

Ginny looked as if she had half a mind to say something rude, but thought the better of it. "Can I please ask you just a few questions?" she asked, pouting and widening her pretty brown eyes. As I looked down at her, I had the sudden urge to suck her protruding lower lip- but not in a vampire-ish way. I blinked, my eyes darting away. "Fine. But only because I fear that if I didn't agree, you'd force-feed me veritaserum."

She grinned. "How did you know?" she asked, laughing. I half-smiled at her, but stopped once I realized that one of my 'over-sized canine teeth' was showing.

I plopped down in an armchair, and Ginny hoisted herself onto a table next to me. "Oh, I'm sorry," I said, "I can sit on the table, if it would make you more comfortable to sit in the chair." I wouldn't notice any discomfort, anyway- I wouldn't want to make Ginny sit on something so unyielding that wasn't designed for humans to sit on.

"Stop stalling," she said cheerfully, crossing her legs. I glanced down at her legs, my eyes lingering for a moment, then back up at her face.

"I assure you, I had no intention of-"

"First question: why do you talk like that?" Ginny asked me, raising her eyebrows.

"Like what?" I asked bluntly.

"I assure you, I had no intention..." Ginny mocked in a high-pitched, falsely superior accent.

I narrowed my eyes. "I'm certain that I don't speak in that ridiculous, high- pitched tone."

"You know what I mean," she said flatly.

"You have no reason to persecute me because my vocabulary is superior to yours," I replied, raising my eyebrows.

"It's not just that you use big words...it's how you phrase what you say. And you don't really use conjunctions."

"Of course I do!" I protested.

"Not often."

"Maybe I just grew up in a different part of Britain than you," I said, jaw clenched.

"It sounds like you've grown up in the eighteenth century," she retorted.

Close.

"That's ridiculous! Why would you even suggest-" I began to protest. Then: "Ha! I just used a conjunction!"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Well, that got a reaction..." she said under her breath. I gritted my teeth.

"And back when we were in the carriage...what was wrong with your eyes?"

"Whatever do you mean?" I asked innocently.

She raised her eyebrows. "Your eyes went pitch-black. You were staring at me."

"My eyes are nearly always black..." I considered this statement. "Depending on what I wear," I allowed, in case she noticed a color difference later.

"The whites of your eyes were gone."

"A trick of the light, I'm sure," I dismissed. "And how would you know that I was staring at you if you couldn't see the whites of my eyes?"

"I could _feel_ you staring at me!" Ginny protested.

"That's ridiculous. Next question." I replied, annoyed.

"Fine...." Ginny grumbled. She bit her lip, thinking for a few seconds. "Is your name really Eli?" she asked curiously.

I laughed. "No."

She raised her eyebrows.

"It's Elijah," I said, smirking.

"Oh, right," she said, blushing. She thought for a moment, deciding on her next question. "Why were you shaking after you got off the train?" she asked, her questions coming faster now.

"I was cold. Could you slow down a little? I feel as if I'm a victim of the Spanish Inquisition," I said, grinning.

She didn't smile back. My grin faded.

"Why are you so solemn? You barely ever smile..." she murmured.

It was mostly because she stared at me every time I smiled.

"You can't expect me to go around with a grin plastered on my face all day long," I answered, raising an eyebrow. "And besides, I'm a fairly serious person."

"Can you smile right now for me?" she asked sweetly.

My lips tightened. I didn't reply.

"Please?" she asked softly, pouting again.

I half-heartedly lifted the corners of my mouth. "With your teeth," she insisted.

"No," I replied stubbornly, my jaw set, all traces of a smile gone now.

"Why not?!" she cried, exasperated now.

"Because you'll accuse me of being a fanged beast again, I know it!" I growled back.

"I never said you were a beast!" Ginny cried. I looked down, not meeting her eyes.

"Please smile, Eli. You have a lovely smile. I won't say anything, I swear," Ginny said quietly.

Hesitantly, I half- smiled at her.

Her eyes sort of glazed over.

I immediately regretted it. I knew that all she would see were my hideous fangs, sharp enough to rip through skin and muscle. I held the expression for a few moments, then let it lapse.

I spotted Harry weaving through the common room, and abruptly stood up. "I'm going to bed now," I told Ginny, avoiding her eyes.

"Oh," said Ginny, not hiding her disappointment.

I strode away, following Harry and Neville up to my dormitory. I didn't look back.

"Harry, Neville!" I called as they began ascending a grand, carpeted staircase that spiraled upwards. Harry's head twisted back, black eyebrows raised below his thin, jagged scar. Neville stopped too, turning around on the step below Harry. He held onto the shining mahogany rail that ran along the stairs as if it were an anchor. I quickly strode up the stairs, catching up to them. "Hey, Eli. Where were you at the feast?" Neville inquired curiously.

"Oh, I didn't feel well, so I came up to the common room," I replied smoothly as they began walking again. "Did anything interesting happen?"

"Well, there's a new teacher, and she looks vile. She had a really boring speech. Oh, and the Sorting Hat sang a different song...it was weird..." Neville replied, his speech slightly...nervous? Perhaps he had better instincts than other humans.

"And our Care of Magical Creatures teacher wasn't there," Harry suddenly added.

"Oh. That's odd," I murmured thoughtfully as Harry pushed open a door that lead to the dormitory.

The dormitory was circular, like the common room, and held several four-poster beds. Two other boys had already arrived in the dormitory, and were putting up pictures on the walls near their mattresses. I saw my trunk at the foot of one of the mattresses and concluded that it was mine. The bed was draped in scarlet and gold, the Gryffindor colors.

As I walked over to my trunk, Harry went over to his own and started changing into his pyjamas. I followed suit, carefully opening the trunk and taking out a pair of dark grey sweatpants and a plain white t- shirt. I carefully laid these clothes on my bed, then stripped down to my boxers, folding my robes neatly and quickly putting them in my trunk. I gave a cursory glance to my surrounding, assessing. I couldn't complain. The room was nice enough. I pulled on my pyjamas and closed my trunk before I realized that Harry and one of the other boys were having an argument- it sounded like it was something about what had happened last year at the death of Cedric Diggory. I'd been cut off from the rest of the world for a long time, but even I had heard about that.

I remembered when Voldemort was still in power, though I hadn't paid so much attention to trivial human matters back then. There was no one close to me that he could kill- and I wasn't even sure that the _avada kedavra_ curse could work on me. I was already dead, in a sense, anyway- my heart had stopped beating a long time ago. But he could have asked me to join him and his followers, and that was a frightening thought.

Harry didn't seem too crazy to me. I was fairly sure that he was telling the truth.

"...go ask McGonagall if you can be moved...stop your mummy worrying," Harry was saying.

"Leave my mother out of this, Potter!" the boy yelled.

Ron walked into the dormitory, eyes wide. "What's going on?"

"They're arguing," I told him, sitting on my bed. Everyone stared at me, as if none of them had noticed my presence in the room until this moment.

"Who're you?" asked the boy arguing with Harry.

"I'm Eli Sangue. What's your name?"

"Er, Seamus Finnigan," the boy replied. A tall, black boy next to him raised his eyebrows. "Oh, and that's Dean," he said, nodding towards the other boy.

"Hi," I said, smiling slightly.

"'Lo," Dean replied.

"What were you arguing about...?" Ron asked again.

"Nothing," said Seamus darkly, firmly shutting the hangings on his bed.

"I'll tell you later," Harry muttered as Ron put away his things at the next bed.

Silently, I shut the curtains on my bed, regretting the fact that I wasn't able to sleep. I lay awake for the entire night, listening to Neville snore, thinking about Ginny.

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**A/N:** Thanks for reading so far. :) Reviews make me happy.


	3. Trust

**Chapter Title:** Trust

**Summary:** Another non-human at Hogwarts must face the challenge of keeping a secret and the fear of being found out. When Ginny realizes that he's a vampire, complications ensue. Somewhat closely based on book five. OCxGinny.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter, but I _do_ own Eli. The vampiric traits in this story are compiled from various books such as Vampire Academy, Marked, Twilight, etc. that have influenced my thoughts on vampires.

**Recap:** _Silently, I shut the curtains on my bed, regretting the fact that I wasn't able to sleep. I lay awake for the entire night, listening to Neville snore, thinking about Ginny._

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The morning dawned at its usual, slow pace, sunlight beginning to stream through the window and filtering softly through the red-and-gold drapes on my bed and creating an odd, pretty light that spread itself precariously across my bedspread. There was enough light that it could serve as an excuse if anyone saw me up so early.

I ignored the persistent ache in my throat and, quietly as possibly, slid the drapes back. Silently, I pushed the covers off of myself and rose to my feet. To my surprise, Seamus was already up, yawning and stretching, his hair disheveled. He jumped when he saw me.

"You're up early," he said, frowning critically.

I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms. "So are you," I countered defensively.

"Fair enough," he muttered, beginning to dig though his trunk for some robes. "Do you mind if I have a shower before you?" he added, clutching an armful of clothes.

"No, go ahead," I replied. "I'm not really in a hurry. I just couldn't sleep." _Literally._

He nodded, then walked to a door joined to the room, shutting it firmly behind him.

I sighed softly, sitting back on my bed.

A while later, after I'd taken a shower and dressed, I walked swiftly downstairs. There still weren't many people around this early- no one liked to get up at the crack of dawn- but when I got down to the common room, there were a few people there. Including Ginny.

I grimaced at the thought of further questions. I turned around silently and started to walk up towards my dormitory again, but Ginny had noticed me. "Eli!"

I sighed in defeat and turned around. "Hello, Ginny," I said, ridding my voice of any emotion. I started towards the portrait hole.

"Come here for a minute!" Ginny begged, her silky red hair gathering on her shoulder as she tilted her head to the side.

"You still haven't run out of questions to bombard me with?" I asked dryly.

"I'm sorry. Did I traumatize you?" she giggled.

"A little bit, yes," I answered, finally giving up and walking over to her.

"I didn't mean to," she said, grinning as I plopped down on an armchair next to her.

"I know," I said, finding myself grinning back. She stilled, staring at me. I quickly shut my mouth. "Is it that bad?" I asked her, annoyed by her reaction.

She blinked a couple times, as if clearing her head. "Is what that bad?"

"When I smile, you get a very odd look on your face."

"No, that wasn't...I'm not-" she began.

"Are my teeth that frightening to you?" I asked softly. I knew that my fangs could be a little unsettling, but apart from that my teeth were perfectly normal- straight and white.

"No! Your teeth are fine. Really. It's just that your whole face sort of lights up when you're smiling, and it's such a change from your normally somber expression. It just startles me."

"So...you actually _like_ it when I smile?" I asked, delighted.

She blushed furiously. "I shouldn't have told you that. You might use it against me."

"I might," I teased, smirking. "But you can't pretend that my fangs don't bother you."

"You've admitted that they're fangs!" she declared victoriously.

My mood dropped a few notches. "So you only said you liked my smile to get me to admit that I have fangs?" I asked accusingly.

"No! I really do like your smile!"

And then I noticed the books. There were tons of them, sprawled out all over the table before Ginny. I scanned the pile and saw some of the titles: _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_, _The Monster Book of Monsters_, _Voyages With Vampires_, _Wandering with Werewolves_....they were stacked on top of one another in precarious piles. It looked as if she had fifty books.

Realization hit like a ton of bricks.

I looked at Ginny and realized that there were dark half-circles under her eyes. She looked as if she hadn't slept at all.

I rose quickly from my overstuffed armchair and fought to control my temper, running a hand through my hair and closing my eyes, body tense. "Ginny," I said, my voice quiet and threatening. "Have you been up _all night_ studying these?"

"Er...no," she lied. I opened my eyes.

"You have, haven't you? You've been trying to figure out what type of...." I seized the _Monster Book of Monsters_ volume. "...monster I am?"

"No...I was just studying!" Ginny squeaked, looking alarmed.

"Classes haven't started yet," I growled, throwing the book back down on the table. The table rocked on its rickety legs and the book skated across its surface, pushing several other books to the floor.

"I- I was just..." she began, but I was already walking away.

"Eli!"

I paused, my back still turned to her, giving her a chance to apologize.

"Just tell me what you are!" she begged.

My heart dropped. She didn't actually care about me, after all. She just wanted to know what type of monster I was. "Give it up, Ginny. You won't find me in any of those books," I replied coldly, then climbed out of the portrait hole.

I walked down a flight of stairs lined with old portraits gossiping to one another. They all completely ignored me, which I was fine with. I wanted to sulk on my own.

I wandered my way down several staircases, trying to locate to Great Hall by the sound of students chattering and the smell of human food. As I tested the air again, suddenly Ginny was beside me, matching my pace. I sped up, but she sped up with me. Using my advantage of vampiric speed would only confirm her suspicions.

"I was right," I muttered. "You really are a stalker." I glanced at her, but she looked away guiltily. "What do you want, Ginny?" I asked emotionlessly, looking straight ahead.

"I- I wanted to apologize. I didn't think you'd be so angry with me."

"You don't understand- this isn't a game. If people here knew what I was, I'd have to leave. I've waited all my life to be accepted into Hogwarts, and for what? For some random, nosy human to take it away from me not a day after I've arrived?" I fumed. I wondered if I'd have to perform a memory loss spell on her....but if I did, there would be no evidence that I hadn't just taken some of her blood and wiped her memory to make sure that she hadn't told anyone.

"What if...what if it was just me who knew what you were?" Ginny asked tentatively.

I stiffened, eyes wide. "Do you?" I asked.

"I...yeah, I think so," Ginny admitted.

Was I in one of the books? Were there others...like me? "Did you reach your conclusion from a particular book?" I asked anxiously.

"Um...kind of. You didn't exactly fit the description all that well, but...."

I looked at her expectantly. By now, we had stopped, just standing on the landing at the foot of a staircase.

"...are you a _vampire_?" The simple words echoed in my head, holding weight that pressed down on my chest, suffocating me.

I flinched.

"Are you?" she asked again.

I debated inwardly on whether to tell the truth. I knew I should lie and tell her that I was a human and that it wasn't any of her business anyway. Hell, I might have to leave Hogwarts for telling her. Every part of me rebelled at the words that next came from my mouth, but they couldn't be stopped. They gained momentum as the air came from my lungs and up to my mouth, and my lips parted with the sheer force of the truth. "Yes," I said quietly.

"But...you're not like the book said a vampire would be..." Ginny murmured.

I looked away. Of course not. I was much more of a monster than the others. The others could actually eat human food, digest it. They didn't have to have blood very often. They all loved the taste of blood, of course, but they could resist- and if they couldn't, it was possible for humans to ward them off with a simple clove of garlic.

Me, on the other hand- I was uncontrollable, lusting for blood constantly. I had senses that were acute almost to the point of overwhelming, strength and agility that no human would ever be able to compare to.

The biggest difference was that I wasn't even alive. How could you kill something that was already dead?

"I know," I muttered.

If she knew so much about me, why was she here?

"The book said you'd look gaunt and emaciated, that your teeth would be pointed. But you don't look like that at all, and your only teeth that are pointy are your canine teeth. You're pale, but it doesn't seem like you like blood...it's like you're in pain when you're around a lot of people."

"I do like blood," I sighed, "more than you can imagine. It caused me pain to hold myself back from killing anyone- that's why I looked like I was suffering."

"But...I saw pictures! You don't look like a vampire at all!"

"I'm not like other vampires," I told her cautiously. "But we should probably go to the Great Hall now. Don't they pass out time tables?" I asked, making an effort to change the topic.

"Yeah. McGonagall passes them out," she said, and we continued to walk down the stairs. There was something of an uncomfortable silence that I dutifully ignored.

"So...can you show me any neat vampire skills?" she asked me cheerfully as we descended the staircase.

"What?" I asked, shocked. What in the world did she mean by that?

"I'm sure you have some cool vampire thing that you can do. You said you were different, right?" Ginny said innocently.

"Like what?" I laughed. "Would you like me to demonstrate my excellent skills in locating your carotid artery?"

"As long as you don't demonstrate with your teeth," Ginny teased.

Hesitantly, I gently pressed two fingers gently to her neck, exactly where I would bite if I intended to drink her blood. I could feel the blood there pulsing against my fingertips. Her heart rate grew alarmingly fast- I could hear it and feel the corresponding pulse getting quicker in her neck.

Ginny shivered.

I quickly removed my fingers, concluding that she was either disgusted by how cold my hands were, or scared of me. Probably both.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, shoving my hands in the pockets of my robes.

"Why?" Ginny asked, sounding surprised.

"I could feel how fast your heartbeat was there. I'm sorry to have scared you," I murmured, glancing at her to see if there was fear in her eyes. If it had been there before, the fear was gone now. Her heartbeat sounded fairly normal again.

"I wasn't scared!" Ginny cried, blushing furiously.

"Then why was your pulse so fast? You were either nervous, scared, angry, or physically exerted, and none of those things are good."

"I might be physically exerted- I am climbing stairs, you know," she told me.

I gave a short, humorless laugh. "You're going down the stairs. You were scared, Ginny."

"Oh, yeah? Just try and scare me."

I stopped and looked at her, startled, but her defiant expression remained. I smirked as her eyes narrowed.

I faced her. "Are you sure you want me to scare you?" I asked, giving her a feral grin.

"Um," Ginny said. My grin grew wider. She blinked, looking down. When she looked back up, her face was skeptical. "Yeah..."

"Very well, then..." I said softly, using the voice I used to reserve for frightened humans. I would have to do this subtly. If I actually showed her what it was like to be attacked by a vampire, she'd never come near me again.

I just had to frighten her enough to make her pulse race. Nothing more. Simple.

I sniffed the air, letting my instincts take over- to some extent, at least. I smelled her blood, sweet and potent in the still air.

_So _good.

My vision sharpened as my body prepared to hunt.

I stalked forward, advancing on her. She backed away slowly, scanning my dark eyes for any sign that a shred of humanity remained- but it's hard to tell when you're facing a pair of completely black eyes. She wouldn't even be able to tell in which direction I was looking.

"The scent of your blood," I murmured softly. I tended not to be so dramatic when I actually used to hunt humans; it was so much easier to just snap the neck and drain them, causing as little pain as possible, but I was doing this for Ginny's benefit. She seemed to buy it. Her eyes widened.

"...It's such a lovely scent..." She stumbled slightly as she tried to back away further, then tripped backwards and onto the floor. I almost offered to help her up, but remembered my facade before I actually did anything. She scrambled to her feet, brown eyes shining with fear out of her pale face. I felt a flicker of concern, but didn't let it show on my face. My pace didn't change.

"You really are tempting me..." She hit the wall, but I kept coming. I stopped when my body was pressed against hers.

"Can I take some?"

I put my hands against her wrists, pinning her arms to the wall. I leaned into her neck. "Scared yet?" I whispered into her skin, fangs nearly brushing her neck.

She whimpered. "You're acting like a..." she mumbled, her breathing quick and shallow. She didn't finished her sentence.

"...monster?" I finished for her. "Newsflash, darling: I am one."

I listened to her heartbeat for a moment, then felt a stab of panic- no human's heart should beat that fast. I quickly backed off, neatly stepping away from her.

"Jesus! Are you having a heart attack?" I asked, my panic showing in my voice.

She didn't answer. She was breathing too heavily, eyes wide and staring.

"Do you want to go to the hospital wing?" I asked anxiously. Oh, God. I tell one human that I'm a vampire, and she goes into cardiac arrest.

"I'm so sorry- I didn't think I'd scare you that much! I'll escort you to the hospital wing, if you like- I mean, I would understand if you didn't want me to, of but..."

She remained silent. Sadness pierced me. Why had I agreed to scare her? It had only been an idle bet.

"Don't be afraid. Please...I'm terribly sorry, Ginny. I won't hurt you. I'd never hurt you," I said earnestly.

Ginny giggled. I stared at her. Had I actually driven her to madness?

"That was _so cool_!" she gushed enthusiastically. I blinked, shocked. "I actually felt scared, even though I knew you weren't going to bite me. How did you do that?"

I raised my eyebrows. "With very little effort on my part," I replied. "Of course you were scared. I'm a vampire, and I was cornering you. Cowering away from me was the least I could expect. But, really....I've never heard a human's heart race so fast. Are you alright there?"

"I'm fine! Stop freaking out!" she said breezily. "And you're not that dangerous. Honestly. I mean, I read a lot about vampires and-"

"Ginny, I'm a hundred times more dangerous than the vampires in that book. I'm nearly an entirely different species," I said quietly, eyes fixed on hers to watch for a hint of the fear that had been there before. Her heart was still beating a little faster than normal, but I only saw skepticism in her face.

"I don't think you'd be able to hurt me," she scoffed, eyes challenging.

"Ginny- if I intended to kill you, you'd be dead in less than a second. You have no idea how easy it is for me to-" I broke off, shaking my head. This was something I couldn't take as a bet. "You can't trust me all the time. Just...be careful, okay? Especially if you're bleeding. If my eyes get very dark, or if I look like I'm losing control, I want you to walk away. Don't ever run."

"Why would I have to run from you?" Ginny asked.

"I said not to run. Just walk slowly. Running...excites my senses. It makes it more like a hunt for me."

"I don't understand. How could blood change you so much that you'd actually try to kill me?" Ginny asked, eyes wide and unblinking, as if she expected me to tell her that I was just kidding.

"When I'm...thirsty, I don't have coherent thoughts. Everything's just instinctual. I might not even recognize you if I'm thirsty enough. Sometimes when I'm very, very thirsty...you'd have to be bleeding all over the place..." I paused, unsure that I should continue.

"What?" Ginny asked anxiously.

I grimaced. "I might seem to recognize you, even speak to you. But it's not really me. There's something more sadistic that takes over that I can't control...but Ginny, we don't have to talk about this right now. I don't want to scare you more than I already have. Just know that you shouldn't go anywhere near me if your skin has been pierced."

"So...you'd be like you just were pretending to be?" she asked, confused.

I shook my head. "No. Nothing like that," I said honestly. "I was trying very hard not to be more frightening than was necessary to make your heart beat faster. I was very much in control."

"Oh, okay. 'Cause that was barely even scary, anyway," Ginny retorted, crossing her thin arms and leaning back casually against the wall.

I leaned forward, placing my hands on the wall on either side of her head. I smirked and stared into her scared brown eyes with my own pitch-black, inhuman ones. "Not scared at all?" Ginny didn't say anything. I didn't think she trusted herself to speak. Her head tilted down, away from me. I gently put a finger under her chin and tilted her face up. "Always be a little wary of me. Can you honestly say that you weren't scared at all?"

Her eyes darted down and I sighed.

I pushed myself off of the wall with my hands so Ginny could move freely. She tucked a piece of red hair behind her ear then crossed her arms, scrutinizing me. "Your eyes are still all black...why does that happen? I can't even tell if you're looking at me. I mean, I can almost see some movement sometimes...but then, I can't be sure..."

"Oh, that will go away in a while, hopefully. That happens went I'm really thirsty, or when my predatory instinct kicks in." I looked down at her (not that she could tell) and surreptitiously scanned her eyes for a reaction.

Surprisingly, Ginny looked amused. "You're always so dramatic!"

I smiled. "But I am looking at you, just so you know," I added. I hesitated. "Do my eyes unnerve you?" I asked carefully.

"Well..." she winced, looking up at my eyes. "Yeah. They do, actually. It's a little creepy. But I'm fine with it."

"Really?"'

"Yeah. It's okay, really. 'Cos I know it's still you in there, even if you have funny eyes."

"Funny...?" I echoed, raising an eyebrow. She shrugged.

"Ginny?" I asked quietly, seriously.

"Yes?"

"You won't tell anyone about anything we've talked about, right?" I asked her seriously.

"Of course not," she said solemnly. "I never would."

I never once considered making an unbreakable vow with her, because I felt that I could trust her. And I didn't want to be the cause of her death because of a little Freudian slip. The promise of friend ship had blinded me, suddenly made me forget all the weariness I'd gathered just from being myself. I'd forgotten that I could trust no one. The unbreakable vow just wasn't something I could think about with someone so fragile, so innocent.

Maybe it should have been.

* * *

**A/N:** Should I even bother continuing this story? No one's reviewing, and I take that to mean that no one likes it. Give me your thoughts.

Anonymous reviews are accepted, so if you're not a fanfiction member, then you can still review.


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